---
title: 2018 year review
date: 2019-01-13T10:38:01.889Z
edited: 2019-01-13T10:38:01.889Z
author: Ismail Ghallou (Smakosh)
canonical: https://smakosh.com/blog/2018-year-review
reading_time: 2 min (516 words)
Tags: career, web-development
---

# 2018 year review

![2018 year review](/assets/blog/2018.jpg 'Follow me on Instagram to see more : https://www.instagram.com/smakosh19')

2018 was for me the most productive year so far, so I've decided to write an article at the beginning of each new year highlighting few achievements to improve over the upcoming years.

So let's first get started about the stuff I learned during 2018:

- Dev:

  - CSS core concepts like different methods to setup a grid system...
  - JavaScript core concepts like Hoisting, static typing, execution context...
  - React, React-router-dom, Redux, Formik, Yup, Recompose, Thunk
  - React Native, React Navigation
  - Jekyll, Pelican, Gatsby
  - SSR & SR/Pre-rendering
  - Different design patterns, architectures & the BEM methodology...
  - CSS in JS specially libraries like CSS modules & Styled-components
  - Express, Mongoose
  - Firebase, Netlify, Heroku
  - SEO techniques & how web crawlers work
  - ESlint & Prettier

- Life:

  - We make decisions based on many previous variables
  - I'm the result of the env I interact the most with
  - Real social life matters more than the online one
  - A human being can continue learning unlike studying
  - Sharing what I know and seeking more answers to my questions makes me more curious and makes life fun
  - my LCE life framework is working good so far which stands for "Learn, Create & Earn"
  - Materialism is a huge issue we need to address ASAP
  - Keeping myself always busy makes life fun as well
  - Skipping sport activities is really bad for my health
  - Lack of sleep has side effects
  - Every decision I take at every moment will have an impact on someone's else decisions

- Design:
  - Lazy loading images improves the UX
  - ARIA, a11y & i18n
  - loading spinners & empty state skeleton
  - minimalist UIs
  - forms UX

Let's get into things I built & delivered as "creating" is the second step of my LCE life framework:

- migrated & open sourced this blog from a php/mysql app to a Gatsby site
- Contributed in building [Barmej](https://barmej.com) with my co-workers at [Obytes](https://obytes.com)
- [Cleanify](https://smakosh.com/from-failure-to-launch-hajj-hackathon):
  - A platform for the government to keep track of trashcans to save time & fuel while collecting the trash from the filled ones.
  - React app: React, Redux, Sass
  - Node API: Express, Mongoose, Passport...
  - Built in 3 days
- [Ai Hashtags](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aihashtags)
  - Get precise hashtags extracted from your pictures
  - Built with: Adobe XD, React Native, ClarifAi API
  - Built in less than 8 hours
- [Beaf](http://beafapp.com)
  - The community platform for making decisions
  - Landing page: Gatsby, Styled-components...
  - React app: React, Redux, Styled-components...
  - Node API: Express, Mongoose...
  - First iteration was [livestreamed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tw8Gn16fJM&list=PLT9g4Q9oGxhBiflqRWQF6no8DYj1lQoKd) on Twitch and built in less than 24 hours
- Contributed to Gatsby by building a [source plugin](https://github.com/smakosh/gatsby-source-dribbble) & few starters that are available on my [GitHub profile](https://github.com/smakosh)

Last but not least, I've earned bunch of good stuff this year:

- By contributing to Gatsby, they shipped some [free awesome swag](https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmpf4t4BL7i/)
- Completed the [Hacktoberfest](https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com/) challenge, as a reward from Digital Ocean, I got some [free awesome swag](https://www.instagram.com/p/BsIdPO-BE1u/) as well
- By winning second prize of the [FreeCodeCamp online hackathon](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/winners-from-the-2018-freecodecamp-jamstack-hackathon-at-github-2a39bd1db878), I & my team got some Amazon gift cards & a cash prize

The achievement I'm most proud of this year is the 2,343 contributions on GitHub, looking forward to contribute more in 2019.

And that's it folks!, a quick recap of the things I learned, created & earned during 2018.

> I'll keep editing this article when ever I recall something else before the end of January

---

_Originally published at https://smakosh.com/blog/2018-year-review_